Harry Potter And The Chalice Of Ezryon
by Ofrey
Summary: My version of book 5. Three people at the ministry are murdered and it seems there is only one person responsible. With new and original characters. PLEASE R&R!!!
1. Worst Laid Plans

Disclaimer: I am the rightful owner of the characters Lucrid Valhalla, Acle Nordelph, Rupert Pudprince, Marcus Filby, Harkins, and Greeth. All other characters are property of JK Rowling. This disclaimer will be updated as more of my characters are introduced to the story.

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Chapter 1: Worst Laid Plans

It had been three weeks now since Harry Potter had left Hogwarts and arrived back at Privet Drive with the Dursleys. Harry Potter, who in September would be starting his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a soon to be fifteen year old wizard with dazzling green eyes, untidy black hair and an unusual lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

The Dursleys were Harry's only living relatives and were what was known as Muggles (non-magic folk). They saw Harry's ability to use magic as some sort of abnormality and saw Harry himself to be a waste of space. All through the summer holiday, Harry's porky Uncle Vernon and his horse-faced Aunt Petunia had been yelling at him over the pettiest of things.

Harry however, had barely noticed he was even back at Privet Drive. All through the summer, one horrible thought had been plaguing Harry's mind. Voldemort was back.

It had happened literally weeks ago. Harry had watched helplessly as Voldemort's servant, Wormtail, resurrected the dark wizard that Harry had defeated as a baby. Harry had then managed to survive a duel with Voldemort and return safely to Hogwarts, but one of Harry's fellow students, Cedric Diggory, was killed.

Harry was growing increasingly more worried about Voldemort and kept wondering when and where he would strike first. All summer Harry had been receiving owls from his friends, Hermione and Ron, with letters containing any news on Voldemort. So far Voldemort hadn't made a move but Ron mentioned that something had happened at the Ministry of Magic that he thought was linked to Voldemort.

Harry was desperate to get back to the wizarding world to catch up on all the latest news and he had now become so depressed that even taunting his fat cousin Dudley had lost its appeal. There was only one thing that was keeping Harry going. This coming Saturday his best friend Ron Weasley would be arriving at Privet Drive to pick up Harry so that he could stay with the Weasley family for the rest of the summer.

Harry had told the Dursleys this and, so far, they had avoided the subject of the Weasleys. The Dursleys detested the Weasleys, mostly because they were wizards, and partly because they had blown apart the Dursleys fireplace the year before. However, Harry knew the Dursleys couldn't shy away from the subject forever... and he was right.

It happened on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. Harry was leaning out of his bedroom window staring down into the empty street below when he heard Uncle Vernon's booming voice.

"Potter! Get down here now!"

Harry trundled downstairs and stepped into the Dursleys decorative kitchen. His Aunt Petunia was busy peeling potatoes in the sink, Dudley was sitting at the table wolfing down a bowl of chocolate mouse, and Uncle Vernon was sitting opposite reading his newspaper.

"Uncle Vernon?" asked Harry making his way across the kitchen.

Uncle Vernon looked up and stared sourly at Harry through narrow eyes.

"These Weasleys," Uncle Vernon said disgustedly. "How exactly are they planning on getting here? Flying car? Or maybe they'd prefer to use the fireplace again."

Harry looked back angrily at Uncle Vernon. Harry didn't have a clue. Ron hadn't mentioned how they'd be arriving.

"I don't know," Harry replied sternly. "I'll write to Ron and find out shall I?"

"You'd better," Uncle Vernon growled throwing Harry a very sly look.

"And you'd better make sure no other parts of our house get decimated this time," Aunt Petunia snapped.

They both stared disapprovingly at Harry as he shuffled quietly out of the kitchen. Harry strode back upstairs and opened the door to his bedroom. He sat at his desk and grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment. He was about to start scribbling when something darted through the open window and smacked him in the head like a speeding tennis ball. Harry shook his head and readjusted his glasses, then looked down to see a small creature lying dazed on the desktop. Harry recognised it instantly as Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, and noticed a message strapped to its leg. He removed it, then helped the pint sized delivery bird into Hedwig's cage to recover. Harry unravelled the letter and read it out in his head.

__

Harry,

There's been a change of plan. Charlie's suffered a serious burn injury from one of the dragons at work. Mum and Dad are heading over to Romania for a while to make sure he's ok so we won't be able to pick you up on Saturday. Sorry if this causes any problems.

Ron.

"Oh no," Harry whispered to himself. He sat down on his bed, still staring at the note, and sighed heavily. Now Harry would have to wait longer to find out what was going on in the wizarding world as well as having to spend more time with the Dursleys. "Looks like we'll be staying here a little longer Hedwig," Harry said sadly to his pet owl. Hedwig groaned miserably and rattled her cage causing Pigwidgeon to wake with a start. "I'd better go tell them," Harry sighed. "They aren't going to be happy."

Harry slouched back downstairs and into the Dursley's kitchen. Harry instantly knew this wasn't the best time to deliver the news to his uncle the moment he entered the room. Uncle Vernon was tearing and raging around the room like an angry bull shouting about and looking for some misplaced paperwork. Aunt Petunia was frivolously searching through drawers and cupboards to find it while Dudley just sat at the table, an empty mouse bowl in front of him, looking completely nonplussed. Harry turned and was about to leave the room but unfortunately he didn't get a chance to.

"What do you want boy!" bellowed Uncle Vernon who had just spotted him.

Harry slowly turned around and met eyes with his reddened-faced uncle.

"Um... It's just that... Well you see..." Harry mumbled nervously.

"Spit out boy!" Uncle Vernon spat.

"Ron isn't coming to pick me up on Saturday," Harry said hastily.

At that moment, all the tension and frantic action in the kitchen stopped and everyone looked at Harry. Aunt Petunia stopped scattering around and Dudley's gormless expression had changed to confusion, as had that of his father's.

"What?" said Uncle Vernon slowly.

"One of his family members had been injured so I won't be going down there on Saturday," Harry replied more calmly.

"So you're _not_ leaving on Saturday?" Aunt Petunia asked.

"No," Harry replied sternly.

"But Daddy, what about Aunt Marge?" asked Dudley desperately.

"Now... now hang on a minute son," Uncle Vernon said trying to clam Dudley.

"What?" asked Harry confusedly.

"We were all going on Saturday to stay with Vernon's sister for a few weeks... once you'd gone," Aunt Petunia said. "Oh Vernon, what are we going to do now? We can't take him with us can we?"

"No!" Uncle Vernon yelled. "There's no way I'm taking him to meet Marge again... not after what he did to her last time."

Uncle Vernon looked sharply at Harry and Harry gulped remembering the time when he'd accidentally blown Aunt Marge up like a balloon during a dinner.

"Well there's no place to send him," Aunt Petunia said, now beginning to run out of ideas. "Mrs Figg's left now, and we can't leave him here alone... Maybe we should just cancel Vernon."

"No!" Dudley wailed.

"We are not cancelling!" Uncle Vernon shouted with rage. "Listen to me boy," he hissed, grabbing Harry by the scruff of the neck. "You must have at least one other freaky friend you can stay with, get them to pick you up on Saturday!"

Harry stood trembling, staring angrily back at Uncle Vernon's purple face.

"Ok," Harry said eventually. "I'll find someone."

"Make sure you do," Uncle Vernon whispered darkly. He let go of Harry's collar and Harry edged out of the room with all of the Dursley's eyes following him. Harry wandered back upstairs and into his bedroom. Pigwidgeon was now happily chirping away in the cage with Hedwig angrily screeching at it in an attempt to calm it down. Harry quietly sat at his desk and grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment. He needed to find someplace to stay before Saturday. He dipped his quill into his inkpot and began to write out a letter to the only person he could turn to now.

__

Dear Hermione... he wrote.


	2. The Grangers Arrive

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Chapter 2: The Grangers Arrive

__

Dear Hermione,

You may of heard that Charlie's been injured by a dragon and now Ron won't be picking me up on Saturday. The Dursleys are demanding I find a place to stay while they go to stay with Uncle Vernon's sister. I don't want to trouble you but if I don't find a place to stay then I imagine I'll be out on the streets. Write back soon.

Love Harry.

"There we go," Harry said looking over his letter. He opened Hedwig's cage and she flew out and landed calmly on the desktop followed by Pigwidgeon who shot out like a bullet. The miniscule bird began zooming around the room and Harry had to leap into the air to catch it. "Uh... Get - back - in there!" Harry said forcing the struggling owl back into the cage. "Ok, now you take this to Hermione's house." Hedwig stuck out her leg so Harry could attach the letter, then she turned and soared gracefully through the window into the clear blue sky. Pigwidgeon was now screeching and rattling the cage, demanding to be let out. "Hang on!" Harry said irritably. "Just let me write this reply to Ron and then you'll be on your way."

*

Once both owls had left with their messages, Harry spent the remainder of the afternoon doing gardening for the Dursleys. He watered plants, mowed grass, and dug up weeds until his hands were filthy, his back was sore, and the setting sun had turned the sky a blazing red. Once he had completed his work, Harry headed indoors for a spot of dinner before heading back up to his bedroom. Hedwig had still not returned with a reply from Hermione so Harry climbed into bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The sky was pitch black and rain was pouring down the next time Harry opened his eyes. A small tapping sound awoke him. Harry sat up, put on his glasses, and looked blearily around the room to eventually see Hedwig rapping her beak on the window.

"Hedwig," Harry whispered happily.

He clambered out of bed and opened the window so Hedwig could get inside. She shot into the room, landed on Harry's bed, and shook her feathers to dry them. "Have you got the reply?" Harry asked his owl eagerly. Hedwig stuck out her leg which had a note attached to it. Harry took it, then tickled Hedwig's neck as a sign of gratitude. Hedwig screeched happily then soared proudly back into her cage. Harry unrolled the note and began to read.

__

Dear Harry,

Unsuitable as it is, I would feel guilty just leaving you there (I know what those relations of yours can be like). Tell them we'll be round Saturday afternoon at two to pick you up.

Love Hermione.

"Unsuitable? Well, sorry to ruin your summer Hermione," Harry said slightly annoyed. "Still," Harry said to Hedwig, "at least we've got a place to stay." Harry climbed back into bed and rested his head on his pillow. "C'mon, lets get some sleep. I'll tell the Dursleys in the morning."

*

"Grangers eh?" Uncle Vernon said munching away on a piece of toast. The entire Dursley family was sitting around the dining table the next morning eating breakfast. "Well I don't trust any of your freaky friends or their families but at least you've got a place to stay."

"Stop calling them freaky!" Harry snarled angrily. "Besides, Hermione's parents aren't wizards."

"But their daughter is? Is that possible?" asked Uncle Vernon.

"Of course," Harry replied. "You see there are..."

"Ok, you don't need to explain it," Uncle Vernon said bitterly. "And even if they are normal, it still doesn't make me want them in my house. When they arrive, you can put your stuff in their car and go. I don't even want to speak with them."

*

So Saturday slowly rolled around and Harry just couldn't wait to get away from the Dursleys. In the morning, Harry packed away all his Hogwarts stuff inside his trunk. His robes, his wand, his schoolbooks, his incomplete homework, and his Firebolt, the broomstick he used to play Quidditch. Harry spent the entire day up in his room with Hedwig, just looking out of the window. Closer to two o clock, he kept staring at the top of Privet Drive, just waiting to for the Granger's car to come streaming round the corner but still they didn't arrive. Then, twenty minutes later, Uncle Vernon came bursting into the room and Harry jumped round in shock.

"Where the devil are they boy?" Uncle Vernon said angrily.

"I... I don't know," Harry replied uncertainly. "I'm sure they're just a little late."

"You'd better be right," Uncle Vernon snarled. "And you'd better hope, for your sake, that..." But Uncle Vernon's threat was cut short by a knock at the door. 

"That'll be them," Harry cheered. He turned round and looked out the window to see a bright, silver Subaru Impreza parked in the Dursley's driveway. Uncle Vernon watched unsurely as Harry placed Hedwig's cage on his trunk, then carefully picked it up. "Are you going to answer the door?" Harry asked over the top of his trunk.

"Y-Yes. Of course," Uncle Vernon replied uncertainly.

Uncle Vernon clumped downstairs followed by Harry who was struggling with his heavy trunk. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were standing in the corridor looking at the door like it was going to explode. Dudley was cowering behind his mother, which didn't surprise Harry owing to the fact that Dudley had had some rather nasty experiences with wizards in the past. Uncle Vernon reluctantly reached for the door handle while they all the Dursleys stood in a tense silence, which Harry found pathetic. Uncle Vernon turned the handle, pulled open the door, and was greeted by the smiling face of Mr Granger.

"Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Giles Granger, and you must be Harry's uncle," Mr Granger said happily grabbing Uncle Vernon's large hand and shaking it vigorously. Uncle Vernon replied with a slight grunt.

"And I'm Sheryl," Mrs Granger said taking Uncle Vernon's hand and shaking it.

"So how are you Harry? All ready to go?" Mr Granger asked brightly. Harry smiled and nodded.

A young girl with bushy brown hair then appeared from behind them, Hermione. Dudley gave a slight whimper upon laying eyes on her and Uncle Vernon's body went rigid, his widened eyes fixed on her.

"Hi Harry," she said, ignoring Uncle Vernon's frightened stare. "Sorry were a little late but we had trouble with the car."

"Not a problem," Harry replied with a relieved smile.

"Oh!" cried Hermione, appearing to have just remembered something. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a familiar looking box. "I've got you a present. Here you go," she said, handing the box to Harry.

"A chocolate frog!" Harry said with delight. "Oh thanks so much Hermione," Harry said with deep gratitude. He was about to slip the box into his pocket when he felt it being whipped out of his hand. Harry turned around and there was Dudley standing with the chocolate frog box in his hand, drooling.

"Chocolate?" Dudley said happily.

"Dudley... don't!" Harry said warningly.

"Dudley, give it back to Harry," Aunt Petunia said fearfully. "You know what happened last time."

"Yes. Put the box down son," Uncle Vernon said, also getting scared.

But Dudley wasn't listening. He pulled the tab and the box lid flipped open. Harry leapt forward and tried to close the box but he was too slow. The enchanted chocolate frog bounded out and hooked itself to Dudley's fat face.

"Argh!" Dudley screamed, his arms flailing wildly. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia both began screaming as well and trying to knock the frog off but they couldn't get near Dudley who was staggering around the hallway knocking vases and ornaments off of small wooden stands. Dudley eventually disappeared, howling, into the kitchen followed by his screaming parents leaving Harry and the Grangers alone in the corridor.

"So... Shall we get going," Mr Granger suggested after an awkward silence.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Lets go, we don't need to worry about them. The Dursleys have always managed to take care of themselves."

The Grangers smiled at Harry, then Mr Granger grabbed the other end of Harry's trunk and he and hauled it out to the car. Together they left the Dursley's house and once again Harry said goodbye to Privet Drive.


	3. Hermione's Humble Abode

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Chapter 3: Hermione's Humble Abode

It was half past four by the time Harry and the Grangers arrived in Murrow, a small village in Cambridgeshire. Their car pulled into the driveway of a house named Iona. They all got out of the car and the Grangers helped Harry into the house with his stuff.

The inside of the house reminded Harry of the Dursley's house. It was very tidy and organised. Family photographs hung from the wall inside decorative frames and beautiful china and glass ornaments adorned the shelves. Harry knew the Grangers were not poor but they were not rich, they just believed in having a neat and pleasant house.

"Right, I'll go and start dinner," Mrs Granger said clasping her hands together. "Hermione, help Harry take his stuff to your room."

"Ok mum," Hermione replied, then Mr and Mrs Granger disappeared into the kitchen. Harry and Hermione each grabbed one end of the trunk and began to haul it upstairs.

"I can see now why it was unsuitable," Harry panted. "I'm sorry for making you have to come all that way just for me."

"That's all right," Hermione replied smiling. "Besides, that was only one of the unsuitable things about this arrangement."

"What's the other?" Harry asked curiously.

They reached the top of the stairs and Hermione opened a door to the right to reveal a room with bright yellow walls, this was Hermione's bedroom. A large wooden wardrobe stood against one of the walls filled with casual clothes as well as her Hogwarts robes. There were several shelves piled with her school stuff and a desk with a neat stack of already completed homework on top. Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, was curled up on the flowery bedcovers.

"The other," Hermione said, placing Harry's trunk on the floor, "is that you have to share my bedroom."

"What!?" cried Harry in alarm. Hermione giggled.

"Well you see there's only two bedrooms in the house, my parents and mine, so you'll have to sleep in here with me... Unless you want to sleep on the sofa downstairs." Harry stared bewilderingly at her. "Oh c'mon," she laughed. "It's not like I'm going to watch you get changed or anything."

*

Despite sleeping arrangements, Harry now felt extremely settled and relaxed in the Grangers home. He had just eaten a magnificent roast dinner of potatoes, chicken, and vegetables with a following dessert of chocolate ice cream and was now sitting in the freshly cut, beautifully blossoming garden. He was sitting on a slightly rusted swing that looked like had been Hermione's since she was very young. Hermione then came walking out of the house clutching something in her left hand.

"So... How are you?" she asked, stopping in front of Harry.

"Fine," Harry replied. "Why?"

"I just thought you'd be worried about Voldemort." Harry was quite surprised that Hermione was no longer afraid to mention his name.

"Well of course I am," Harry replied. "I haven't stopped thinking about it all summer. I know he hasn't made a move yet... but that makes me even more concerned. I'll bet he's plotting something right now... Something big." He looked at Hermione who just stared silently back. "What's that you've got there?" Harry asked, spotting the thing in Hermione's hand.

"A copy of the Daily Prophet," Hermione replied holding it up. "I kept it to show you because it's got a story in it about the Ministry of Magic. I'm sure it's linked to Voldemort."

"Yeah... Ron mentioned something about this," Harry said taking the paper. He unfolded it and was met with a disturbing headline on the front cover. "Murder mayhem at the Ministry," Harry read. "Last night, three employees of the Ministry of Magic were brutally murdered by a fellow colleague. In the early hours of the morning, Lucrid Valhalla, a now former member of the Ministry, went on a murderous massacre throughout the building, which caused the death of three men." Harry's eyes wandered to a picture of a man with evil, narrow eyes, spiky black hair and a calm and relaxed expression on his face.

"That's Lucrid," Hermione said. Harry said nothing, but merely continued reading.

"The minister for magic, Cornelius Fudge, had this to say, 'Lucrid Valhalla was a marvellous worker, one of the best. He had been with us for seven years and was always hard working and friendly. There was no reason anyone in the ministry could think of for him to do this and these unexplained actions have led to some very tragic losses. The place was in a state of utter disarray when I arrived in the morning.' The minister insists that nothing was stolen and that this incident has nothing to do with the rumours that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned. The ministry also denies that these rumours are true.

The three people who were tragically involved in this incident were Acle Nordelph, Rupert Pudprince, and Marcus Filby."

There was a picture of an old man with an egg shaped bald head. He was leering grouchily through his thick circular spectacles. Underneath there was more text.

"Acle Nordelph, age fifty-seven, was described as 'very hard working but not the most friendly of people. He had been working at the ministry for twenty-nine years before Lucrid cast the forbidden Avada Kedavra curse on him.'"

Underneath there was another picture of a young, thin, weedy looking man with untidy brown hair and pale skin. There was some more text to go with the picture.

"Rupert Pudprince, age twenty-eight, was described by his colleagues as 'an immensely hard worker but he was very quiet and usually kept to himself. He had only been with the ministry for a year before Lucrid got him. Rupert's ashes were found in his office after Lucrid cast a combustion spell on him.'"

There was one final picture near the bottom of the page. A picture of a tough, surly looking man. He was staring through squinted eyes and he had a blue bandana wrapped around his head. There was another section of text underneath containing information on this person, which Harry read out.

"Marcus Filby, age thirty-six. Described as being a bit rough, not too popular, and not immensely hard working, he had been working with the ministry for six years. He had been impaled to a wall by a magically crafted spike.

The ministry are now offering a reward for the capture of Lucrid but people are warned that he is very dangerous."

Harry quietly folded up the newspaper and handed it back to Hermione.

"It's gotta be connected to Voldemort... don't you think?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I know the ministry are denying but that's because Fudge is refusing to accept that Voldemort is back."

"I don't know," Harry replied. "It would make sense that Lucrid did this because his master has now returned to power but..."

"What?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Well, when I faced Voldemort last term, I met all of the Death Eaters except for the two who didn't show up, Snape and Karkaroff. There was no sight or mention of this Lucrid Valhalla so that makes me wonder... maybe he didn't do it for Voldemort. Maybe he did it for himself... or for someone else."

"So Lucrid isn't a Death Eater?" Hermione asked sounding slightly shocked.

"No," Harry replied. "Argh! This doesn't make any sense!" he shouted angrily. "Lucrid killed three people in the ministry and just ran off. Nothing was stolen, he's not a Death Eater... so why'd he do it? Did he even have a motive?"

Hermione placed her hand on Harry's knee. He stared up at her and she smiled back.

"Don't think on it too much Harry," Hermione said soothingly. "Whatever Lucrid's up to, it doesn't concern Voldemort so you needn't worry." Harry felt a warm comfort inside and he smiled back and nodded. "C'mon, lets go inside."

Harry pushed himself off the swing and followed Hermione back into the house. As the pair stepped inside, they heard screaming from Hermione's parents.

"Mum!? Dad!?" cried Hermione. Hermione sprinted through the living room into the kitchen and Harry followed. Mr and Mrs Granger were both ducking and weaving, attempting to grab hold of something that was darting around their heads.

"Pigwidgeon!" yelled Harry.

Pigwidgeon was madly diving and swooping through the air and didn't having any intention of landing until Crookshanks bounded from the sideboard and pinned the miniature bird to the floor.

"Don't worry dad," Hermione said. "It's just Ron's owl."

"Yes, I know," Mr Granger breathed.

Harry took Pigwidgeon from under Crookshanks paw and removed the letter attached to his leg. He unrolled it and read it out.

__

Dear Harry and Hermione,

Mum and Dad are coming back on Friday so we can come and pick Harry up on Saturday if you want. You can come stay too Hermione. Write back soon.

Ron.


	4. The Chalice Of Ezryon

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Chapter 4: The Chalice Of Ezryon

Harry was lying back on his mattress, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the incident at the ministry when Hermione came into the room. She was wearing her pink pyjamas and brushing her wet hair having just finished taking a shower.

"You send the reply?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied continuing to stare upwards.

"You told them that I'd be coming too didn't you?" Hermione asked, placing her brush on the desk and sitting down on her bed.

"Yeah," Harry replied distractedly. Hermione sighed.

"This is really bugging you isn't it? This thing with Lucrid."

"I know I shouldn't be worrying but... well, there's something just not right about it."

"Well Harry, there's nothing much I can say. I think you should just forget about it... It's not your problem." Hermione moved a sleeping Crookshanks to the bottom of her bed and then climbed under the covers. "Please just try and get some sleep. Next week you'll be back at The Burrow with Ron... and then you can ask Ron's dad about it. After all he does work at the ministry."

Hermione shut her eyes and quickly fell asleep while Harry continued to stare into space. His mind filled with thoughts of Voldemort and whether or not Lucrid really was working with him before Harry eventually managed to drift off into a deep sleep.

*

Harry's next week with the Grangers was a lot of fun, much more than it would have been with the Dursleys. Hermione showed him around the village and took him to a discreet place where he could use his Firebolt and practice his Quidditch technique. He also got to do one of the things he'd never done properly before. Harry went shopping in the Muggle world. He'd been a few times before with the Dursleys but it had never been any fun and he was delighted when the Grangers told him he could pick out something for himself.

Saturday morning came along very quickly and Harry and Hermione were both preparing to leave. Harry had eaten breakfast, showered and dressed, and was now packing away his stuff in his trunk, including the homework Hermione had forced him to do. He was dumping his textbooks into his chest when Hermione popped her head around the bedroom door.

"Hurry up Harry, they'll be here soon," she ordered sternly.

"I've just got a few more things to pack away," Harry replied placing his inkpots and quills into his trunk.

Hermione closed the door and went back downstairs. Harry finished packing, then took his trunk and Hedwig's cage down into the Granger's living room.

"Oh here, let me take that for you Harry," Mr Granger said seeing that Harry was struggling with his case. He took it and placed it in front of the sofa and Harry placed Hedwig's cage on top of the mantelpiece.

"All set," Harry said smiling.

"Harry, you'd best move away from the fireplace," Mrs Granger said warningly.

"What? Why?" Harry asked, but before anyone could reply, a strange whooshing and whistling noise filled the room. Harry felt a strange warm wind blowing against the back of his legs. He turned round and looked down at the fireplace to see a green flame burning brightly and at that moment Harry knew what was going to happen, but before he could leap out of the way something shot out of the fireplace and hit Harry's legs. Harry fell forward but fortunately whatever had shot out of the fireplace broke his fall. Harry shook his head and opened his eyes and was met with the stunned face of Ginny Weasley. Harry hastily rolled off of her and stood up, as did Ginny. Harry looked up, reddened faced, at Ginny who was blushing worse than he was. Her face was almost as red as her hair. Harry felt extremely embarrassed at the thought of being on top of Ginny Weasley. "I - I'm sorry," Harry stuttered.

"It's all right," Ginny replied, continuing to stare at the ground.

There was an awkward silence, then the green flame burst in the fireplace again and another person shot out. A boy Harry's age, with red hair stood up and dusted off his clothes.

"Ron!" Harry cried happily.

"Alright Harry?" Ron said smiling.

The fireplace burst into green flames again and someone else flew out onto the Granger's floor. A man with red hair just like Ron's and Ginny's stood up clutching a flowerpot.

"Hello Harry. Hello Hermione," Mr Weasley said with a gleaming smile.

"Hello Mr Weasley," they both replied.

"Ah Giles, Sheryl. Lovely to see you again," Mr Weasley said resting the flowerpot on his arm and shaking both the Grangers' hands. 

"And you," Mr Granger replied.

"And your house is looking as lovely as ever... Ooh! What might this be?" Mr Weasley picked up and small round ornament made from china. There was a lid on the top, which could be lifted up. Mr Weasley pushed the lid up and a beautiful tune began to play. He jumped in fright and dropped the music box to the floor causing it to shatter. "Oh my god!" he cried. "I am so sorry... I just wasn't expecting... What was that?"

"It _was_ a music box," Mr Granger said. "Never mind, we can get a million more, just forget about it."

"Thanks ever so much for letting Hermione stay for the rest of the summer," Mrs Granger said gratefully, trying to change the subject.

"No trouble, no trouble at all. Thank _you_ for looking after Harry on such short notice." Mr Weasley turned to Harry. "I'm sorry about all that business with Charlie but these things can't be helped."

"That's all right. By the way, how is he?" Harry asked.

"Well the burns are pretty nasty..." Mr Weasley said.

"But he'll live," Ron cheered brightly.

"Right, ready to go?" Mr Weasley asked Harry and Hermione.

"I think so," Hermione replied. She grabbed her trunk and Crookshanks hopped on top. Harry picked up his case and Ron grabbed Hedwig's cage. Harry then approached the Grangers.

"Thank you so much for looking after me and... Well, for everything," he said.

Mr Granger smiled and Mrs Granger looked as though she was about to burst with tears.

"Don't mention it Harry," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "If you ever want to come and stay again you only have to ask."

"Thank you Mrs Granger," Harry managed to reply despite Mrs Granger's crushing grip.

"Ok then, Floo Powder! Floo Powder!" shouted Mr Weasley holding out the flowerpot.

"Will we be all right taking our stuff with us through the fireplace?" Harry asked.

"Of course you will, just as long as you keep hold of it," Mr Weasley replied.

"Yeah, because if you let it go then it could fly out of anyone's fireplace." Ron was grinning at his dad who was looking slightly annoyed with him for saying that.

"What is it?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Dad's had to deal with a lot cases of things flying out of fireplaces," Ginny replied.

Things like this were part of Arthur Weasley's everyday job as he worked in the 'Misuse of Muggle Artefacts' office at the Ministry of Magic.

"Yes, well lets not get into all that," Mr Weasley said wanting to get off the subject. "Now Ginny, if you take Crookshanks and then there's no worry of her flying off the top of Hermione's trunk. And Ron, if you take Harry's trunk and he can carry Hedwig's cage. Better if he carries something small seeing as how he's not really used to this sort of thing."

Everyone took what he or she was supposed to carry and then Hermione stepped up first to collect her Floo Powder. She reached into the flowerpot and pulled out a handful of dusty coloured powder. Then with her trunk in one hand and the Floo Powder in the other, she turned and said goodbye to her parents and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" she called, and she threw the Floo Powder at her feet. A green flame exploded in the fireplace and Hermione was whisked away.

"You next Ginny," Mr Weasley said, ushering her into the fireplace.

Ginny used her Floo Powder to return to The Burrow, Ron followed her, and then it was Harry's turn.

"Go ahead Harry, and don't worry, I'll be right behind you," Mr Weasley said enthusiastically.

Harry breathed deeply and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" he shouted. He clutched Hedwig's cage tightly, then threw the powder to the ground and the green flames rose up around his body. He felt his body being swept from the Grangers living room, and with his hand wrapped tightly around the handle of the cage and his eyes shut even tighter, he stood a straight as a board as he spun around at great speed. The air was whipping his face and creating a high pitched whistling noise in his ears. Eventually, he felt himself slide out onto a hard surface. He opened his eyes to find himself on the wooden floor of the house Harry knew as The Burrow.

"You ok Harry?" Ron asked pulling him to his feet.

"Still in one piece," Harry replied. He raised Hedwig's cage to his face and peered in. "How are you doing?" he asked his pet owl. She hooted shakily and was looking around nervously; she had obviously never had such an experience.

Harry looked around the small, cramped wooden room that he was now standing in. Ginny and Hermione were sitting at a long wooden table with nine chairs set around it. There was sink filled with dirty crockery that was cleaning itself and an unusual clock hung on the wall which told you where each member of the Weasley family was at that present time.

The fireplace then exploded in green flames again and Mr Weasley slid out. He got to his feet and look around at everyone.

"Everyone ok?" he asked.

"We're all fine dad," Ron insisted.

"Great. Well now, let's get everyone sorted out. Ginny, would you help Hermione take her stuff upstairs?"

Ginny and Hermione got off their chairs, grabbed Hermione's chest, and hauled it out of the room, followed by Crookshanks.

"Ron, will you take Harry's stuff up to your room for him?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Sure," Ron replied. He took hold of Harry's trunk and heaved it out of the room. Harry smiled at Mr Weasley and made his way to the door.

"Uh, not you Harry," Mr Weasley called.

"What?" Harry said turning round.

"I just had to get rid of them so I could get you alone."

"Alone? What for Mr Weasley?" Harry asked.

"Sit down," Mr Weasley said uneasily. Harry got the feeling that something was wrong. Nevertheless, he pulled out a chair and sat down. Mr Weasley grabbed a newspaper off the kitchen sideboard and sat opposite Harry. He then unfolded the newspaper and laid it on the table for Harry to see; it was the same newspaper Hermione had shown him. Harry looked at the bold headline, then down at the picture of the evil, murderous Lucrid Valhalla, and finally his eyes wandered down to the pictures of Acle Nordelph, Rupert Pudprince, and Marcus Filby, the victims of Lucrid's attack.

"I've already seen this," Harry said looking up at Mr Weasley.

"Oh, so you know all about it then?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Yeah, all about Lucrid, and the people he murdered. I wanted to ask you about this."

"Good, because I wanted to talk to you about it."

"What did you want to tell me?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's just that this newspaper story is not one hundred percent accurate," Mr Weasley said.

"What?" Harry said confused. Mr Weasley pointed to one of the lines of text in the article, which read 'The minister insists that nothing was stolen.' "What about it?" Harry asked. A short pause then followed. "Something was stolen, wasn't it?" Mr Weasley looked down at the ground and nodded. "What was it?" Harry asked insistently.

"The Chalice of Ezryon," Mr Weasley replied looking up at Harry.

"Why's it not mentioned in this story?" Harry asked.

"Because no one knew that the chalice was at the ministry," Mr Weasley said. "The chalice is a legendary item used for many things involved in the dark arts but because it is so powerful and valuable, the members of the ministry decided not to destroy it, but to hide it away."

"When was this?" asked Harry.

"It was about fifty years ago when ministry officials found the chalice. As it was such a feared item, they promised to destroy it but you know what people at the ministry can be like, naive and changed by power. Instead of destroying it, they hid it deep within the ministry, put all sorts of spells and enchantments around it as security. They thought that one day they may be able to find a use for it and now look what's happened."

"So who knew about the chalice?"

"The secrecy around it was watertight. Only a handful people in the ministry knew, including the minister for magic himself. No one else, no press, and the ministry didn't want to mention it now and cause a huge frenzy."

"And you?"

"I was told by Fudge himself, he trusted me."

"Did Dumbledore know about it?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure that man would've known even if he hadn't been told about it."

"What can the chalice be used for?" Harry asked, continuing his string of questions.

"It is mainly used as potion enhancer but it can be used for many other things."

"How did Lucrid manage to get the chalice?"

"Well he'd been working with the ministry for seven years so he had a good chance to learn everything about the place. My guess is he was planning to steal from the moment he joined, and he was extremely talented with magic so he would have no problem in breaking the spells around it. It was also a nightshift so there wasn't so many people in the building to see him."

"Ok now, just one more question. Why did Lucrid steal the chalice?"

"I don't know. No one knows for sure why he stole it."

"But you're telling me because you think Lucrid's working for Voldemort don't you?"

"Of course I do," Mr Weasley said sternly. "Both you and Dumbledore tell me that he's returned. I doubt you'd both be lying to me but those fools at the ministry refuse to accept it. They're just lying to everyone; they're trying to make people feel safe but I think everyone has a right to know the truth."

"There's nothing we can do," Harry said. "The ministry makes the rules, not us. But there was no Death Eater called Lucrid Valhalla which makes me wonder."

"Harry, not all of Voldemort's followers were made Death Eaters you know," Mr Weasley said. "He saw some of them as unworthy. Lucrid may have been one of them."

"I'm not sure," said Harry rubbing his head which was hurting from all this stuff he was trying to take in. "So... Lucrid killed those other ministry employees obviously because they saw him trying to steal the chalice. He stole the chalice and ran off because he wants the chalice for Voldemort? Is Voldemort going to try and make some sort of potion to make himself more powerful?"

"I don't know Harry," Mr Weasley replied. "All I know is that this year is going to be tough for you, but don't worry. I'm here if you ever need anything."

"Thanks Mr Weasley," Harry said gratefully.

"That's all right. Now off you go. Ron will be wondering where you are."

Harry pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. He walked silently across the room, then turned and looked over at Mr Weasley who was looking angrily at the newspaper on the table. Harry bit his lip and breathed heavily, then turned and headed up the stairs.


	5. Confrontations And Despirations

****

Chapter 5: Confrontations And Desperations

Thoughts and fears of Lucrid, a possible new enemy of Harry's, did not deter him from enjoying his next few weeks at the Burrow. He spent the long, lazy days with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George enjoying games of Quidditch together or laying in the fields surrounding the Burrow, just talking. Ron's oldest brother, Bill, visited a few times and word arrived that Charlie was on the mend and could soon return to work. The only Weasley Harry didn't get to see over the summer was Percy who had been a lot busier at the Ministry since being appointed Barthemius Crouch's old job. Though there was not that much to do at the Burrow, the weeks flew by and soon enough it was time for the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione to head into Diagon Alley to purchase all the things they would need for the coming school year.

*

Harry stepped out of Gringotts Bank; his pockets now flooded with money, with Hermione and the Weasleys by his side. The light of the sun pierced through the clouds and hit Harry's face making him feel a sense of warmth. As he looked out over Diagon Alley he saw a number of nameless faces he recognised from school, and Harry really felt he was back where he belonged.

"Right, so what's first?" Mrs Weasley said. "Ah, the bookstore, of course."

Mrs Weasley led her children down the bank's steps leaving Harry, Hermione and Ron at the top. Hermione gave an excited squeal and skipped off after them.

"What's up with you?" Ron asked as he and Harry caught her up.

"Have you even looked at your school list? Do you even know what books you need to purchase?" Hermione scowled throwing Ron a sharp look.

"Of course I do, why? I saw nothing special on it," Ron replied.

Hermione sighed, then pulled out her school list and jammed it under Ron's nose. "Look!" she ordered.

Ron snatched the list from Hermione's hand and began to read.

All fifth year students will require:

The Standard Book of Spells Grade 5 by Miranda Goshawk

Advanced Transfiguration by Hayden Greeves

Power Of The Elements Vol. I by Olivia Kednib

Power Of The Elements Vol. II by Olivia Kednib

"So what?" Ron sighed, not knowing what he was supposed to be looking at.

"So this means that this year we'll be studying the elements," Hermione said looking incredibly excited.

"What's so good about that?" Harry asked.

"The elements are the roots of all magic, it is because of the elements that we are able to use magic," Hermione said knowledgably.

"So the elements are the basis of magic?" Harry asked.

"That's right. Oh this is going to be so enlightening," Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron couldn't believe she was getting so worked up about it.

Eventually they all reached the bookstore and went inside. The shop was full of people looking to get their copies of the books they needed. Harry looked around at the many large wooden bookshelves adorned with thousands upon thousands of books, then at the many friendly faces Harry recognised from school. Finally Harry's eyes came to rest on the face of a young boy Harry hoped he wasn't going to have to deal with on this beautiful day. The person had also spotted Harry so he knew that confrontation was now inevitable and the young boy, with slick blond hair and malicious blue eyes, made his way over to Harry.

"Hello Potter," the boy said sneering.

"Malfoy," Harry said nodding.

"Ah, Granger and Weasley too," Malfoy said smiling as Hermione and Ron came over. "Out to buy your annual 'tat'? Did I say tat, I meant supplies."

"Shut your face Malfoy!" Ron growled. Malfoy's grin disappeared and he looked over at Ron like he was a piece of dirt.

"What's going here Master Malfoy?" came a voice. A pale man wearing a long black coat came through the crowds and stood behind Malfoy. He had short brown hair, very dark eyes and stood in a manner of order and respect, just a like a soldier.

"Who're you?" Ron asked bitterly.

"This is Harkins, our butler," Malfoy said proudly. "We needed a new servant after you lost us or old one," he continued, fixing his gaze on Harry.

"Are these your friends Master Malfoy?" Harkins asked.

"Hardly," Malfoy said, a look of disgust spread across his face. "This is Harry Potter."

"Ah, so _this_ is the famous Harry Potter," Harkins said, sounding very unimpressed.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all stared at Harkins bearing a sudden hatred for him, and then Harry dragged his eyes back to Malfoy.

"So where's your father anyway Malfoy?" Harry asked cunningly. Harry had only discovered last term that Malfoy's father was one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters but he had had his suspicions about him since they first met. Harry was pretty sure that Draco was aware of this too and Harry knew this comment was sure to make Malfoy snap. He was right. Malfoy began trembling with rage but before he could retaliate, Harkins placed his hand on Malfoy's shoulder.

"Don't listen to this wretch Master Malfoy," he said calmly, fixing an evil eye on Harry. "Come; let's leave before this boils over."

Malfoy stared angrily at Harry, then silently swept past him, followed by Harkins. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood silently for a moment as they watched the enraged Malfoy walk past the window. Eventually Ron turned to Harry and, with a slight smile, said, "Bit of a low blow wasn't it Harry?"

Harry smiled back at him, and then all of a sudden arms of Mr and Mrs Weasley reached out and pulled the trio in among the bustling crowds.

*

Twenty minutes later, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys all emerged from the bookstore complete with fresh sets of books. Mr and Mrs Weasley now set off with Ginny to help her find some more things that she would need while Fred and George sprinted off to the joke shop. This left Harry, Hermione and Ron alone so Harry decided to treat his friends to an ice cream. From the stall, Harry brought a strawberry ice cream for Hermione and two chocolate ones for himself and Ron. The three of them then went and leant against the side of the stall to enjoy their ice creams.

Harry was aimlessly slurping away at his ice cream whilst pondering his thoughts, most of what was going on around him was blocked out. He was half listening to an argument Ron and Hermione had just started having about which was better, boys or girls. How they'd got onto that subject Harry didn't know or particularly care, he was happy just to be thinking. Hermione had just made an extremely long argument as to why girls were better than boys, and it seemed to have put Ron in his place. But then a gleam came into his eye like he'd just thought of the perfect comeback. Ron opened his mouth to argue back but before he could, something, or someone, bowled him to the ground. Harry was jolted out of his thoughts and he looked down at Ron who was now sprawled out on the road, his ice cream stuck to his forehead. Ron sat up looking very angry, chocolate ice cream dripping down his face.

"Watch where you're go-" he began, but he stopped when he saw who had knocked him over. A young woman wearing a scarlet robe was hastily gathering up sheets of paper she'd obviously dropped upon colliding with Ron and stuffing them back into a brown satchel. She had long, flowing brown hair going all the way down her back and she was, in Ron and Harry's opinion, extremely pretty.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said, sounding like she was in a panic.

"That's ok, here let me help you," Ron said scraping up the rest of the paper and putting it back in the woman's bag.

"Oh thank you so much," she said gratefully. "I'm sorry I knocked you over, I'm just in a bit of a rush. I'm late for a meeting you see?"

"I understand," Ron replied. The woman smiled, then flicked the ice cream cone off of Ron's head.

"Here take this," she said pulling out a handkerchief. "Clean yourself up." And with she ran off down the street. "Thanks again!" she called back.

Ron wiped the ice cream off his forehead and then looked after the woman who had now disappeared. He then turned back to Harry and Hermione smiling.

"Is there something you were going to say about women?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at Ron.

"No, nothing at all," Ron replied beaming.

"You ok? Nothing broken?" Harry asked. Ron felt up and down his body to make sure he hadn't lost anything, then he looked up startled at Harry.

"My wand! My wand was in my pocket! Where's it gone?" he asked desperately.

"Relax," Hermione said, "It's probably just fallen out somewhere."

The three began looking around where Ron had fallen before Harry finally spotted it. It had rolled into a small dark alleyway between two shops. Ron, followed by Harry and Hermione, rushed over into the alley and pocketed his wand.

"What's the point of bringing that with you? You know you can't use magic out of school anyway," Hermione said.

"I like to have it with me," Ron replied.

Then all of a sudden, a loud clatter from further down the alleyway made the three of their hearts jump. Ron quickly span round and pointed his wand out in front of him.

"What was that?" Ron asked shakily.

"I don't know, it sounded quite big, bigger than a cat. Ron come on out of there!" Hermione said getting very worried. But Harry wasn't prepared to turn a blind eye at this. Because of all that was going on Harry had become a lot more aware and curious. He strode past Hermione and Ron and began making his way down the alleyway.

"Harry don't!" Hermione called.

"Come back Harry!" Ron shouted.

But Harry didn't turn back; he continued down the alley and as he did the constant clattering became louder as Harry got closer and closer. Shafts of sunlight lit his way down the passage and the closer he got to the noise, the faster his heart pounded. Finally he knew that he was right in front of whatever it was. Silhouettes of dustbin lids and old empty bottles and cans were rolling around and flying everywhere. Then Harry saw something small and hairy scraping and stirring in among all the rubbish; it didn't appear to have spotted Harry. Hesitantly, Harry outstretched a shaking hand and then, biting on his bottom lip hard, he lunged his arm into the pile of garbage, pulled out the scuffling creature and pinned it to the wall.

A beam of sunlight hit the creature's face and it gave a slight whimper of fear. Harry stared at what he was holding against the wall and he felt a slight weakness. It was a small, helpless, cowering goblin. It obviously wasn't a goblin from Gringotts; this goblin was dressed far too scruffily. He was unlike any goblin Harry had ever seen before. Whereas all the goblins Harry had seen in Gringotts had narrow, beady, watchful, suspicious eyes, this goblin and great big bulging eyes that looked like they would pop out of his head, but he still had the hooked nose and slimy leathery skin like all the others. The creature was quivering beneath Harry's grip and looking at him with terror in his eyes. Hermione and Ron came sprinting to Harry's side.

"Harry what are you doing!?" Hermione cried.

"Please... please don't hurt me!" the goblin shrieked in a high pitched gurgle.

Harry released the goblin from his grip and placed him on the floor.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm so sorry I scared you," Harry replied, brushing off the goblin's tattered black coat and looking at him with deep sympathy. The goblin silently looked from Harry, to Hermione, to Ron, and then back to Harry. He began to tremble again and then, like a rocket, shot through the air and grabbed hold of Harry's collar.

"You're Harry Potter! You are! You can help me! You have to help me!" the goblin yelled.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Harry shouted grabbing hold of the insane little creature. "I'll help you. Of course I will. I'll help in anyway I can, but you have to calm down." The goblin began breathing deeply and relaxing himself. "Right first of all, what's your name?" Harry asked.

"My name is Greeth, Greeth the black marke- I mean Greeth the goblin... just Greeth the goblin," Greeth said. He was breathing a lot faster now and Hermione and Ron were looking suspiciously at him.

"And what do you need help with Greeth?" Harry asked. Greeth began to shake again and could no longer contain himself. He exploded again and leapt onto Harry's chest, he grabbed Harry's collar and pulled Harry's right up to his.

"He's coming for me!" Greeth cried. "He wants me and he'll find me and I'll have to tell him!" Harry was trying his best to ask who was after him but Greeth wasn't letting Harry get a word in edgeways. Greeth pounced off of Harry and landed on the ground. "You must take it!" Greeth yelled. "He cannot have it! Take it! Take it!" Greeth stuffed his hands into the pockets of his worn black coat and pulled a number of strange and unusual items then threw them all at Harry's feet. "Take them! Take them all! Don't let him have the herb! If he finds you, don't let him take him the herb!"

And with that, Greeth shot off screaming through Ron's legs and out into Diagon Alley.

Harry stood in shock for a moment before he realised Greeth wasn't coming back. He bent down and scooped up all the items Greeth had left for him.

"Don't let him take the herb," Harry whispered. From the pile of items he had acquired Harry pulled out a small green herb with a number of small stems dispersing from the main stalk. At the tip of each stem was a small blossoming pink flower bud.

"Should we trust him?" Hermione asked. "He's a sneaky black market goblin, although he tried to hide it."

"Black market?" Harry asked.

"Yes, the black magic market, where illegal dark arts items can be obtained," Hermione said. "He may have been tricking us."

"No, he wasn't tricking us," Ron said. "He was terrified; you could see it in his eyes. You can't fake that kind of fear."

"Someone was chasing him for this herb," Harry whispered fixing his eyes on the herb that he was now spinning in between his fingers. "And I'll bet my life that it was Lucrid."


End file.
